logging
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Silas Siakor put his life on the line to save Liberia’s forests
The forests of the West African nation of Liberia cover almost 12 million acres, and are home to nearly half of Africa’s mammal species — including the region’s largest forest-elephant population. But these forests, and the communities that call them home, have been ravaged by 14 years of brutal civil war. Liberian President Charles Taylor […]
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It’s time for conservationists to collaborate with an agency they’ve long demonized
In 1982, Earth First!er Dave Foreman used form letters to blitz the U.S. Forest Service with administrative appeals, blocking over 100 timber sales that threatened roadless areas in several Western states. There’s a new ray of hope among forest activists. Photo: iStockphoto. This act of paper monkeywrenching sums up the relationship conservationists had with the […]
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Logging keeps Asian elephants in business … for now
At a fork in the road, our guide points to the right. “That’s the main road there,” he says. “We’ll go on this smaller road, deep into the jungle.” A glance to the left reveals a narrow, unpaved track, which he tells us is used primarily by logging trucks. It’s the dry season in Myanmar, […]
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Timber industry turns to underwater crop
As the traditional logging industry deals with unsteady prices and the challenges of globalization, the value of a new crop is coming to light: trees hidden under reservoirs, long given up for lost. Sawn, but not forgotten. Photo: Triton Logging Inc. While no exact count of these “rediscovered” forests — which are being logged primarily […]
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Forest meets felon in John Vaillant’s The Golden Spruce
The old riddle goes: If a tree falls in a forest and no one’s there to hear it, does it make a sound? The new one might go: If a tree falls in a forest and no one’s there to hear it, is it worth writing a book about? The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant, […]
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Allan Thornton, environmental investigator, answers questions
Allan Thornton. What work do you do? I run the Environmental Investigation Agency, a nonprofit environmental group with offices in Washington, D.C., and London. I generally oversee the strategic development of the organization, which includes targeting research, deploying investigative teams to obtain documentary evidence, and exposing environmental crimes; I work in close cooperation with our […]
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Isidro Baldenegro López leads a struggle against logging in the Sierra Madre
Isidro Baldenegro López. Photo: Goldman Environmental Prize. When Isidro Baldenegro López was growing up in the mountains of central Mexico, his father opposed widespread logging in the forests of the Sierra Madre. He spoke out about the effects of the destruction on the indigenous Tarahumara people, drawing the attention of local crime bosses, who ordered […]
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Father José Andrés Tamayo Cortez guides the fight for Honduran forests
José Andrés Tamayo Cortez. Photo: Goldman Environmental Prize. The woodlands of southeastern Honduras range from mountaintop cloud forests to low-lying rainforests; they are home to more than 500 bird species and a wide array of other animals and plants. But in recent years, more than half of the 12 million acres of forest in the […]
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Just Looking
Forest Service considers sustainability certification In an attempt to stem criticism of its logging and forest-management practices from both timber companies and conservationists, the U.S. Forest Service is assessing a handful of forests to determine if they meet management requirements outlined by two very different sustainable forestry organizations, with an eye toward possible certification of […]
